The disclosures herein relate generally to computer systems and more particularly to a break-away door mounted on a computer chassis.
Computer chassis and/or bezels include doors which cover slots and ports. These doors are subjected to frequent openings and closings and are usually pivotally mounted on the computer chassis or bezel. Because the doors are often exposed in an open position when the ports are being used, they are sometimes subjected to abuse which causes them to break off and separate from their attachment. Some doors are pivotable into the chassis but this takes up valuable space. If a no door solution is used, the ports and slots are then constantly viewable causing an aesthetically unattractive situation.
Therefore, what is needed is a computer chassis door which includes a break-away attachment so that if the door is stressed beyond structural limits, a break-away mechanism will permit the door to separate from the computer without structural damage. The door can then be re-attached.
One embodiment, accordingly, provides a door which is separable from and re-attachable to a hinge connection on the chassis. To this end, a computer chassis door includes a door mounted on the chassis and a hinge pivotally connecting the door on the chassis. The hinge and door have a break-away connection including a pair of spaced apart resilient snap tabs and a snap-in member engaged with the snap tabs.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that the door is detachable from the hinge in several directions so as to absorb direct or angular movement relative to the hinge. The door is easy to detach and to re-attach due to the sturdy snap-in structure. The attachment is formed by an inexpensive molded structure.